


Mood Swings

by laurelofthestory



Series: The Forgotten Words [4]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Abrupt Ending, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Not Canon Compliant, OUTDATED
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurelofthestory/pseuds/laurelofthestory
Summary: Varian was tired of getting caught up in the crossfire between his friends. So he did something about it. A little too much of something about it, actually.Unfinished oneshot, AU of Not in the Mood (Varian is present and not a villain), posted forGood Intentions WIP-fest.
Relationships: Cassandra & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel & Varian
Series: The Forgotten Words [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979123
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13
Collections: Good Intentions: Abandoned and Unfinished WIPs





	Mood Swings

**Author's Note:**

> This has a lot to do with the canon of the [last work I posted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27129541), but I sadly don't remember a whole bunch of what was happening in the interim besides Varian getting absolutely got in Painter's Block and wrecking his equipment. Once again, this was written in 2018 before Season 2, so everyone's probably even more out of character than usual. More explanation after the abrupt end--sadly I didn't write out much of alternate Varian before stalling out.
> 
> If I could toot my own horn, I must admit I am kind of proud of how I got Varian to kick off the plot of this episode. It still feels very in character looking back.
> 
> Check out the other works for the Good Intentions event [here!](https://goodintentionswipfest.tumblr.com/)

Varian had a rather serious problem.

It was a _strange_ problem, yes, and one that he probably should not have run into in the first place, he was willing to admit. But between not knowing whether his father was okay, being stuck in 'castle arrest' since the storm, and what had happened at that disastrous painting class with Rapunzel...the stress of the fighting on top of all of that was just too much. He just wanted them to at least get along for one day, if only so he would stop getting caught up in the crossfire.

He knew what he was doing. He didn't know exactly what it was the blacksmith had offered him (he'd wanted to run some tests on it once the equipment Rapunzel had helped him get to replace what he'd destroyed during the painting fiasco came in), but he knew there were dangers and he knew to be careful. And he _had_ been careful! Everything was going fine until the horse practically broke down the door and startled him in the middle of dropping the elixir into the lemonade--and consequently, causing the bottle to slip out of his hands.

Varian stared into the barrel in dismay, helpless to do anything as the entire potion dissolved into the lemonade without a trace, the flagon bobbing to the surface. He stayed there frozen for a few moments before his breathing caught and he fumbled for the ladle, scooping up the empty bottle before whirling to face the horse standing in the doorway with a somehow suspicious expression.

"Look at what you've done!" Varian waved the bottle in the air, voice breaking with distress. 

Maximus huffed and squinted at him, as if asking what exactly it was he was doing.

"Xavier gave me this, it--it was supposed to get them to stop fighting, but I wasn't supposed to put a lot in there, and now I dumped the whole thing! You startled me!"

Maximus gave him a questioning look, tilting his head.

Varian sighed. "I don't know...You noticed it too, right? Aren't you tired of it? I just--I'm just tired of them taking it out on me, you know? I wasn't gonna hurt them, I just...wanted them to..."

Whatever flimsy explanation he was going to give was interrupted by the shouting closing in on the kitchen door. Both boy and horse glanced at each other with equal looks of alarm, and Varian scrambled to get away from the lemonade barrel and slip the bottle into a pocket as Maximus seemed to be trying to look natural standing by the door and "smiling" a little too widely.

"Nice going, _Cass,_ you broke my confetti cannon!"

"You're lucky, I was aiming for your _face."_

And in the three of them came; Eugene first, with an exceptionally frustrated expression, followed by Cassandra, who looked as if she were one sarcastic comment away from shanking Eugene with a wicked-looking knife in her hand, and then Rapunzel with Pascal on her shoulder, who seemed to be unsuccessfully trying to mediate the current situation.

The three of them were so involved in their argument they didn't seem to notice the suspicious duo. Rapunzel jumped between Cassandra and Eugene as they walked, trying to hold them away from each other. "Cass! Uh-uh, put your sword down. Hand me that dagger, come on..."

Eugene held his hands up in front of him as he backed up, staring at Cassandra's blade with concern. "Wait, wait, wait, ha--" He was abruptly cut off as he backed into the barrel of lemonade, causing it to slosh around loudly. Eugene froze for a moment, then glanced over his shoulder, his expression effortlessly melting into casual agreeableness in the span of a second. "Hey, let's all have some lemonade, I know I could use some!"

"No, don't--!"

Varian quickly covered his mouth with both hands, eyes going wide as he cursed himself internally. Immediately, all eyes (human _and_ animal) in the room were on him. He felt horrendously exposed.

Eugene raised an eyebrow at him, his stance still radiating confidence. “Oh, hey, kid! Quiet as a mouse, aren’t you? Did you make this for us?”

“Uh...um…” Varian struggled to find words, feeling as if their stares were boring right through him as he wrung his hands. “I...yes! Yes I did, but it’s--I taste tested it already and it didn’t come out so great, you should _probably_ go find something else.”

“Come on, I don’t think even you could mess up lemonade,” Cassandra responded with a dismissive wave of her free hand. Varian winced--he suspected she meant it as a joke, but her sense of humor had gotten more prickly than usual over the past week, and that particular wound was still sore.

 _"Cassandra,_ be nice.” Rapunzel crossed her arms, shooting her a look before turning back to Varian. “I’m sure it’s just fine, Varian.”

“It’s...really not, you probably shouldn’t--”

“We’ll be the judge of that.” Eugene grabbed the ladle, and began spooning the lemonade out into four nearby goblets. “After all, my throat was getting all sore from all this yelling.”

“At least _someone_ around here is considerate,” Rapunzel quipped, passing one of the goblets to Cassandra and gesturing for Varian to come over, smiling sympathetically.

Varian was feeling worse by the second, his stomach churned into knots. He slowly approached, hands clasped tight in front of him. He could _feel_ Maximus staring at him.

“Varian…” Rapunzel handed the last goblet over to him, which he took, trying hard not to let his hand shake. She put a hand on his shoulder. “I know things have been hard for you lately, I’m really sorry _these two_ keep harassing you.”

Eugene raised a hand. "Excusez- _moi,_ what was that about being _considerate--"_

“I just hope you know that...if there’s something wrong, you can tell us, okay? We’re your friends.”

The look in her eyes and the little squeeze she gave his shoulder made Varian feel like human garbage. He opened his mouth, briefly considering confessing to what he’d just done…but...they were his friends. Why would he do something like that to his _friends?_ His attitude towards them since the storm had been strained enough already, half the castle assumed he was dangerous...he didn’t want to make things worse. He didn’t want to disappoint them. He didn’t want to have to explain, to complain about the way they’d been acting...he didn’t have the right.

There was a pretty high chance they wouldn’t understand how he felt, anyway.

“...Uh...Thanks, Rapunzel.” His smile was forced, “It’s nothing. Really.”

Rapunzel nodded, though there was a doubt in her eyes that made Varian wonder if she really did believe him. Then she lifted the goblet to her lips, the other two taking it as a sign to do the same.

Varian stared down into the innocuous yellow liquid, hesitant. He wasn’t entirely sure what would happen when he drank it, but he couldn’t _not_ drink it, then they’d ask him why and he’d have to try and explain. Varian was confident in his skills. Even if they all drank it, whatever happened...he could fix this in a couple of hours, and no one would be the wiser.

It was a bit of an experiment, he told himself, and swallowed down the contents of the goblet in one go.

 _"...Really_ not a fan of lemonade,” said Rapunzel, then quickly caught herself, “Not that this is bad lemonade, I just...don’t like lemonade.”

“It’s bitter,” Cassandra said, turning and walking away a few steps, “I like it.”

Varian grimaced. “B-bitter?”

Eugene gave a sarcastic chuckle. “Why am I not surprised.”

 _"You_ know what, Eugene,” Cassandra snapped, turning back around...and then, for about a second, her face went completely blank. Varian held his breath. 

Cassandra smiled, her gaze softening.

“...I can kinda see how that cannon would be fun! But, at least consider the risks…”

Vairan turned to the others. Eugene was next, his expression changing from dry sarcasm to a kind of low-key anxiety Varian had never seen there before. “What was I _thinking,_ you’re absolutely right, Cassandra.” 

Correct pronunciation, Varian observed. This stuff really was potent. He’d have to ask...have to...

“Firing a cannon could be _dangerous!"_ Eugene wrapped his arms around himself, grimacing as if the mere thought terrified him.

Rapunzel seemed amused by the two of them, before glancing back to Varian. Something seemed to catch her eye, and she raised a brow in concern. “Hey, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Fine.”

And then the concern twisted into something alien for her; condescension. A coldness entered her gaze, and her tone had gone sharp. “Good. Because _then_ you can make me a sandwich to get the taste of this _lemonade_ out of my mouth.” Scowling at him, Rapunzel tipped her goblet over, spilling the contents onto the floor, then dropping the goblet after. She turned, let out a huff, and headed for the door. _"I’ll_ be off rewriting my speech for the stupid banquet tonight. You two, with me. _You_ can come when you’re finished with that sandwich.”

“Yeah, I should _really_ go check the fog machine one more time to make sure it’s got some emergency failsafes…” Eugene rubbed the back of his neck, wincing as he followed Rapunzel out. “Ohh, imagine if it exploded during the ceremony, that would be awful, just _awful,_ and if someone got hurt…what would they _think...”_

 _"I’m_ gonna go and shine my _aaaar-moooor!~"_ Cassandra singsonged, skipping out after them.

And then Varian was alone in the kitchen, still holding his empty goblet. He stared off after them, his expression unreadable.

He could hear hoofsteps behind him, and Maximus nudged Varian’s shoulder with his nose. Varian flinched, turning and scowling.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, you smelly beast.” Maximus stared at Varian in alarm, to which Varian laughed sardonically. “Imagine! A dumb animal on the royal guard. Working itself to death. Sad, really.”

Varian tossed his goblet to the floor carelessly, slouching his way out the door. “And _really,_ the princess thinks _I’m_ gonna make her a sandwich. I don’t have to do _anything._ That’s why we have _servants._ Ooh, yeah...servants...”

A nasty smirk crossed his face.

“I think I can get used to castle life.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so! All I have on mood-swap Varian is my own thoughts on his characterization and this fic, I don't actually remember what I was going for. Curse me for not writing more.
> 
> But basically, he wasn't going to switch to his villainous self or anything--instead of being enthusiastic, energetic, well-meaning and desperate to please, he'd be uncaring, lazy, selfish, and condescending, hence him not getting the antidote done because it's too much work. Basically the stereotype of the rebellious, mean, harsh teenager who's completely done with everyone's crap.


End file.
